Bio
Born: | 1933-05-23 |
Intl. since: | 1972-01-01 |
Hometown: | Forte dei Marmi / Torino |
Country: | Italy ![]() |
Speaks: | Italian |
Occupation: | bank manager |
Hobbies: |
Did you know
WORLD CUP AND EURO FINALS
- Sergio Gonella was having dinner at a friend's place in Buenos Aires when a neighbour came by to tell the Italians she just heard one of their country men was going to get the final, someone called Gonella.
- It was the highlight of his career and his last important match, the 1978 World Cup final Argentina - Netherlands. A controversial tournament, the final held in a stadium that stood very close to the army barracks where people were being tortured. But not during the final.
Gonella was ordered to start exactly at 3 pm, but just before he wanted to blow his whistle, Argentina player Daniel Passarella told him Dutch striker Rene Van der Kerhof was wearing a cast around his arm, which is dangerous. Van de Kerhof had been wearing the same cast since the start of the tournament, but Gonella knew Passarella had a point. Van de Kerkhof couldn't play.
If he doesn't play, none of us will play, another Dutch man cried out. Gonalla had a problem. The Italian ref tried to get eye contact with the FIFA bosses on the stand, but none of them looked.
Then Gonalla found a piece of foam in a dug out and ordered the Dutch to cut it and put it over Rene van de Kerkhof's cast. Play could finally start, nine minutes too late. - Gonella considers himself a down to earth kind of person and slept well the night before the final
- Gonella, who sent off 75 players in 175 Serie A matches, was very lenient in the 1978 final.
Statistics
Statistics for SERGIO GONELLA
Totals | Home | Away | Total |
---|---|---|---|
Penalties | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Fouls | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Yellow | 11 | 12 | 23 |
YellowRed | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Red | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Averages | Home | Away | Total |
---|---|---|---|
Penalties | 0.09 | 0.03 | 0.06 |
Fouls | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Yellow | 0.32 | 0.35 | 0.34 |
YellowRed | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Red | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Based on 34 international matches